The hamster has been shown to share a variety of metabolic similarities with humans. To replicate human
acute pancreatitis with hamsters, we comparatively studied the efficacy of common methods, such as the peritoneal
injections of
caerulein,
L-arginine, the retrograde infusion of
sodium taurocholate, and another novel model with concomitant administration of
ethanol and
fatty acid. The severity of
pancreatitis was evaluated by serum
amylase activity, pathological scores,
myeloperoxidase activity, and the expression of
inflammation factors in pancreas. The results support that the severity of pathological injury is consistent with the
pancreatitis induced in mice and rat using the same methods. Specifically,
caerulein induced mild edematous
pancreatitis accompanied by minimal
lung injury, while
L-arginine induced extremely severe pancreatic injury including
necrosis and neutrophil infiltration. Infusion of Na-
taurocholate into the pancreatic duct induced necrotizing
pancreatitis in the head of pancreas and lighter
inflammation in the distal region. The severity of
acute pancreatitis induced by combination of
ethanol and
fatty acids was between the extent of
caerulein and
L-arginine induction, with obvious inflammatory cells infiltration. In view of the advantages in lipid metabolism features, hamster models are ideally suited for the studies of
pancreatitis associated with altered metabolism in humans.